Website Usability: Cognitive versus Activity Theory Approaches

The growing use of the Internet and the evolution of web services is becoming of increasing interest to society and organizations, both public and private. From initially being used to provide and receive information as well as advertising companies and their products, websites have become real “virtual stores” where things are bought and sold on a daily basis without customers or sellers having to move from their usual seats. Recently, among other things, an increasing number of companies offering free or paid “services” on the net are being quoted on the stock exchange, so that the number of users of these services is also becoming significant in terms of quotation indexes. The example of Google is well known. Introduced in 1998 in a market that appeared to be saturated and firmly in the hands of two giants which had already been present for some time as search engines (Altavista and Yahoo), Google is currently one of the most famous brands in the world as well as the most used search engine, as confirmed by a survey conducted annually by Interbrand, worldwide leader in brand studies (Interbrand, 2004). On April 29, 2004 Google lodged its official request with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to go on the stock exchange and be quoted on Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, thus activating the biggest hi-tech stock operation in the United States from 2000 up until now. But what motivates a user to buy a product or use the services of one certain web site over another? The evolution of on-line services, ever more attractive and technologically advanced, could be one answer. In most cases, however, users are not aware of the technological features that distinguish various web sites offering the same service. Let’s take, for example, the three most well-known search engines: Altavista, Google and Yahoo. Most users do not know how the different algorithms operate, which characterize the three search engines; in spite of this, each user prefers one certain search engine over another. One hypothesis could be that users value a certain on-line service uniquely based on the final result obtained. From this point of view, if Yahoo and Google used the same algorithm and thus produced the same search results, it should not matter to the user whether he uses one or the other of the two services. Nevertheless, after a few initial experiences of use, a user chooses only one of the two search engines. What determines this choice? One hypothesis we are proposing is that users construct their preferences on the basis of the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which they can attain a specific result with a particular web service. In other words, the usability of a web service has a significant influence on users’ assessment of its quality and their intentions to use it again in the future. At the same time, usability is also an extremely important aspect for a web site’s survival in that it increases the possibility that users will return to use it again instead of turning to other web sites that offer similar services. This report thus addresses the issue of web site usability: initially we will analyze the main aspects of usability according to the cognitive approach of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and the main aspects and critical points of this perspective will be highlighted. We will then analyze Activity Theory, a more contextual approach to human-computer interaction which attempts to respond to some of the critiques which have been made of the cognitive approach. Finally, we will propose some concepts based on Activity Theory, which not only web designers but also web site company managers and organizers should consider in order to improve the usability of web sites and web services offered to users in general, and in particular, to clients and consumers.